Question Micro stuttering and FPS drops in almost every game

[Spaytrz]

Hello,
I have been dealing with this issue for the longest time. In most games, I drop FPS or the game micro stutters randomly, and it ruins the immersion for me, I really hate it. What can I do to fix this?

Here are my specs:

• CPU: Intel i7 7700k @ 4.2GHz
• GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX1080Ti ROG Poseidon Platinum (I have to note that I don't run water cooling through my GPU, even though it is a Poseidon.)
• RAM: GSKILL 16GB Trident Z DDR4 3000MHz RGB
• PSU: Thermaltake Smartpower 80PLUS Bronze 650W
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus IX Hero
• Drive 1 (Harddisk): WD 1TB Caviar Blue 7200Rpm
• Drive 2 (SSD): Corsair 480GB Force PCI-Ex 3000MB/2400MB
• Cooling: Cooler Master Masterliquid 240 AM4 Liquid Cooling Solution
• OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Spoiler: Tempratures

Idle:

• CPU: 41 °C
• GPU: 65 °C

Ingame:

• CPU: 55 °C
• GPU: 84 °C

Spoiler: Idle LatencyMon Results

_
CONCLUSION
_
Your system seems to be having difficulty handling real-time audio and other tasks. You may experience drop outs, clicks or pops due to buffer underruns. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:05:25 (h🇲🇲ss) on all processors.


_
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_
Computer name: SPAY-PC
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, version 1903, build: 18362 (x64)
Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., MAXIMUS IX HERO
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz
Logical processors: 8
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16244 MB total


_
CPU SPEED
_
Reported CPU speed: 420 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.



_
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 1150.30
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 5.271220

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1141.90
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 2.280437


_
REPORTED ISRs
_
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 149.742619
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.090552
Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.094559

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 185484
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_
REPORTED DPCs
_
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 1161.484048
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.042838
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 441.66 , NVIDIA Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.146932

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 961821
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 170
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 5
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: discordptb.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 1727
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 462
Number of processes hit: 34


_
PER CPU DATA
_
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 12.259836
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 149.742619
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 2.449237
CPU 0 ISR count: 171958
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1161.484048
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 3.751266
CPU 0 DPC count: 948708
_
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.699744
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 9.558571
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.008359
CPU 1 ISR count: 11948
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 114.257619
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.016324
CPU 1 DPC count: 3167
_
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.047419
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3.547381
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000054
CPU 2 ISR count: 44
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 964.201667
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.028429
CPU 2 DPC count: 5011
_
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.712569
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 4.3150
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000723
CPU 3 ISR count: 1069
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 32.262143
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.001380
CPU 3 DPC count: 413
_
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.978160
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3.553095
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000012
CPU 4 ISR count: 8
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 91.0350
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.010510
CPU 4 DPC count: 2157
_
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.693081
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3.949286
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000271
CPU 5 ISR count: 309
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 46.712143
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.001735
CPU 5 DPC count: 461
_
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.876236
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 1.516905
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000006
CPU 6 ISR count: 5
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 80.440238
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0.007619
CPU 6 DPC count: 1486
_
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.791713
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3.1250
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000125
CPU 7 ISR count: 143
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 42.144048
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0.003337
CPU 7 DPC count: 593
_

I have clean installed Windows very recently, used DDU. My graphics drivers and other software are all up to date. I run 3 monitors at the same time, but only game on a 144hz monitor.

Thank you.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

So, what games are you playing when this happens?

I guess it could be a number of things. Possibly faulty ram, possibly GPU overheating (temps are a little on the high side - causing throttling). Maybe high disk usage, or faulty drive.

For the ram, you can test outside of Windows using memtest86+.

For the GPU, check it's seated correctly, cables are connected correctly. Check all fans are spinning. If the GPU is a few years old, it may be worth looking at replacing thermal paste. Your idle and load temps are on the high side as I've mentioned.

It's possible it's your PSU also. You have a power hungry GPU that on load can use up to 300w! I'd be looking at getting a decent gold rated PSU in your system,

Use something like HWMon/Info, and monitor your system during load/idle and see if there are any 100% usage scenarios or high temps.

You can post screenshots of HWMon with idle/load info and we can see if there's something going on the backround.

You've done pretty much everything else that would be advised: e.g Newest drivers, Fresh OS install. Have you made sure you have the most up to date bios for your mobo? This would be a good thing to do also.

 

[Spaytrz]

Hey there,

So, what games are you playing when this happens?

I guess it could be a number of things. Possibly faulty ram, possibly GPU overheating (temps are a little on the high side - causing throttling). Maybe high disk usage, or faulty drive.

For the ram, you can test outside of Windows using memtest86+.

For the GPU, check it's seated correctly, cables are connected correctly. Check all fans are spinning. If the GPU is a few years old, it may be worth looking at replacing thermal paste. Your idle and load temps are on the high side as I've mentioned.

It's possible it's your PSU also. You have a power hungry GPU that on load can use up to 300w! I'd be looking at getting a decent gold rated PSU in your system,

Use something like HWMon/Info, and monitor your system during load/idle and see if there are any 100% usage scenarios or high temps.

You can post screenshots of HWMon with idle/load info and we can see if there's something going on the backround.

You've done pretty much everything else that would be advised: e.g Newest drivers, Fresh OS install. Have you made sure you have the most up to date bios for your mobo? This would be a good thing to do also.

Hello, thank you so much for your reply.
I am playing pretty much any triple A game, most often Battlefield V and Fallen Order for now, but this does happen in games other than EA too.
After posting this question (and before your reply), I disabled Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading from BIOS to see if it would make any difference. So far I cannot exactly tell if it is worse or better, but there definietly still is microstuttering. Do you think I should keep those off or would they not affect this issue? Also, I have started to see spikes in LatencyMon. It spikes up to thousands sometimes. I couldn't recreate the huge spikes but I will include the data anyways just in case.
Thank you again.

EDIT: I had already checked the BIOS update a few months ago but I just checked it again just to be sure, and it is up to date.

I have collected the data:

• Fan speeds at max
• Disk usage
• LatencyMon
• memtest86+
• GPU and cables correct seating
• HWMon

Spoiler: LatencyMon Results

_
CONCLUSION
_
Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:06:05 (h🇲🇲ss) on all processors.


_
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_
Computer name: SPAY-PC
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, version 1903, build: 18362 (x64)
Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., MAXIMUS IX HERO
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz
Logical processors: 4
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16244 MB total


_
CPU SPEED
_
Reported CPU speed: 420 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.



_
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 521.10
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3.501799

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 510.10
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.178334


_
REPORTED ISRs
_
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 165.0
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.415507
Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.482030

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 648447
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_
REPORTED DPCs
_
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 471.390238
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.145029
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.442366

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 1504451
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 17
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: hxoutlook.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 4144
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 1578
Number of processes hit: 39


_
PER CPU DATA
_
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 21.032656
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 165.0
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 7.023153
CPU 0 ISR count: 632645
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 471.390238
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 6.176996
CPU 0 DPC count: 1464437
_
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 6.938142
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 56.007381
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.012161
CPU 1 ISR count: 12876
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 337.779286
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.234030
CPU 1 DPC count: 28763
_
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.584125
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 29.038810
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.001257
CPU 2 ISR count: 1632
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 121.250
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.024808
CPU 2 DPC count: 5931
_
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.777186
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 4.063333
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.001062
CPU 3 ISR count: 1294
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 93.438333
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.022712
CPU 3 DPC count: 5337
_

And the results are:

1. HWMon shows CPU and GPU usages 100% almost all the time while under load; seen in the image below.
2. Speeding up the fans to full speed did not help.
3. GPU and cables seating checked.
4. Disk usage on Task Manager shows around 5% ingame.
5. memtest86+ ran for 8 hours, got 5 passes with no errors.

Here are the screenshots from HWMon:

Under load

Idle

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Okay, so looking at your data, everything apart from the GPU temps are where I would expect them to be.

Your GPU temp idling at 60c is smacking of something wrong. Its very possible that at high gaming load the GPU at 90c+ is throttling.

My advise is to try thermal past replacement on GPU. Have you confirmed all fans are spinning on the GPU, and it's properly seated?

Your CPU and GPU being at 100% load isn't really an issue. What it tells you is they are actually quite well matched/balanced.

 

[Spaytrz]

Okay, so looking at your data, everything apart from the GPU temps are where I would expect them to be.

Your GPU temp idling at 60c is smacking of something wrong. Its very possible that at high gaming load the GPU at 90c+ is throttling.

My advise is to try thermal past replacement on GPU. Have you confirmed all fans are spinning on the GPU, and it's properly seated?

Your CPU and GPU being at 100% load isn't really an issue. What it tells you is they are actually quite well matched/balanced.

I have checked that my GPU is properly seated and the fans do spin. My theory is that because my GPU is supposed to be ran with water cooling, (it has a built in water-block) the fans may not be sufficient. The problem with that is I do not know much about water cooling, especially on a GPU. I do run my CPU with a water cooler already but I am pretty sure I cannot just attach extra pipes to that, not that I know where to get the required pipes in the first place.
I don't know much about thermal pastes either, instead of the regular CPU install routine, however I will check it out.
If it helps, I would like to mention I have a very loud coil whine issue under load.
Thank you.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Coil whine is normally a GPU/PSU issue, or perhaps the PSU isn't providing enough power to the GPU. But that would't manifest itself with higher temps. It could be the fans are failing on the GPU. It might be worth looking into the water cooler to add to the Poseidon.

 

[Spaytrz]

Hello,
I am trying to change the paste, but don’t know where to go from here, any ideas? I don’t see any other screws.